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“Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same.” These were the heartbreaking words of a seventeen-year-old girl, Lady Jane Grey, as she stood on the scaffold awaiting death on a cold February morning in 1554. Minutes later her head was struck from her body with a single stroke of a heavy axe. Her death for high treason sent shockwaves through the Tudor world, and served as a gruesome reminder to all who aspired to a crown that the axe could fall at any time.

The world of the Tudors is complicated to say the least. And yet Tallis breaks it down to an easily read and very well documented and researched read.

Lady Jane, known as the 9 day Queen, was by all accounts an intelligent and strong willed girl. Educated and piously Protestant, she seems to have been a pawn in the way that so many women of that age were.

We follow her from early childhood to her death at the Tower. I was surprised at the amount of information on her. Tallis gives us a brilliant look at this time in history and brings Lady Jane to life for us.

There was also a lot of information on Princess Mary and her vast following, not only of Catholics but Protestants as well.

Thank you to Netgalley for this book! Publication is set for December 6, 2016.

About the Author

Nicola Tallis achieved a first-class bachelor’s degree with honors in history from Bath Spa University. She also has an MA in Public History from Royal Holloway College, University of London. Nicola has been passionate about English history all of her life, and has worked as a curator, lecturer, and historical researcher. She is currently the resident historian for Alison Weir Tours. Crown of Blood, her first book, is the result of five years of research on the Grey family.